Episode 122: The German Bundestag Election Results
Shortly after the polls closed in Germany, Jeff Rathke, Eric Langenbacher, and Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger discussed the results of the snap elections. They give their reactions to the performance of the …
The End of Modell Deutschland?
It has become abundantly clear that both the United States and Germany are going through their own versions of a Zeitenwende. Marc Fischer points out how both countries have been …
AGI at the Munich Security Conference
The American-German Institute hosted a series of events in Germany during the week of the Munich Security Conference. AGI President Jeff Rathke spoke to the media about the relationship between …
AGI Profiles: Markus Frohnmaier
Member of the Bundestag; AfD State Chairman in Baden Württemberg In January 2025, local Alternative for Germany (AfD) party members in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, placed fake Abschiebetickets—one-way deportation flight tickets—in the …
Some Small-Town Reflections on Catechism 2.0
When it came to German memory, the language of Dirk Moses’s initial contribution to what subsequently became the so-called Catechism debate was replete with references to a priestly cast, priestly …
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A Guide to German Party Election Platforms 2025
Christian Democratic Union (CDU): “Policy Change for Germany” Campaign Platform Foreign Policy and Security Continue support for Ukraine and Israel. Commit to NATO’s 2 percent defense goal. Strengthen transatlantic partnerships, …
A Seven-Point Plan for Revitalizing Germany
Germany is—still—the world’s third-largest economy, following the United States and China and ahead of Japan. However, the German economy has gone through a “lost decade” or at least a “lost …
Holocaust Memory after Gaza
Toward a New Epistemology of the Minority Question How does one intervene in “the Catechism Debate” when it has caused such polemics? Dirk Moses’ piece “The German Catechism” was published …
The Far-Right Vorfeld and Its Ideological Influence on the AfD
Compared to other contemporary German parties, the Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) is profoundly influenced by external actors operating outside its formal institutional structure. This dynamic reflects the …
When the Auto Industry Sneezes, Germany Catches a Cold
Martin Winterkorn could never have imagined that one day he would become the symbol of the crisis that has enveloped the company he once led with an iron fist, Volkswagen. …
Episode 120: The Issues Driving German Politics One Month from the Bundestag Election
With the German elections slated for February 23, Member of the Bundestag Omid Nouripour, a former national co-chairman of the Green Party, joins The Zeitgeist to discuss the issues shaping the campaign. …
The German Reason of State as State Anti-Semitism
In an article published online in March 2024, the historian Andrew Port wrote about “Germany, Gaza, and Genocide.” He summarized what he called the “postcolonial catechism” critique of official German …
A Zeitenwende for Whom?
German Colonial Memory and Epistemic Barriers On November 21, 2024, The Namibian, Namibia’s leading English-language newspaper, reported that the ongoing negotiations between Namibia and Germany over compensation for the genocide …
Episode 119: Voter Volatility and Political Stagnation
Germany votes for a new parliament on February 23. While the center-right Christian Democrats maintain a lead in the polls, the three parties of Olaf Scholz’s outgoing “traffic light” coalition …
